| A systematic study of the magnetic properties and anisotropy in magnetic thin films as well as superlattices is presented in this thesis. The main objective is to investigate by means of the Green function technique the order-disorder phase transition and reorientation transition in a non-perturbative microscopic theory valid in the whole temperature range of interest. We consider the magnetic systems that may consist of an arbitrary number of layers with any spin.; We start with a discussion of general properties and origins of anisotropies of the magnetic systems, and a list of questions that we are trying to answer. A comparison between different theoretical approaches follows. The Green function method is used to derive analytical expressions for various anisotropies. The energy spectrum and the spontaneous magnetization are obtained as well. Based on these results, the transition temperature and the Curie temperature are calculated as functions of the Fe film thickness. It is shown that the condition for the reorientation transition is equivalent to that for the zero energy gap at the bottom of the spin-wave spectrum. Special features under the influence of normal external field, anisotropic exchange couplings and next-nearest-neighbor couplings on the magnetization reorientation of magnetic thin films are then investigated in detail. It is demonstrated that the nature of perpendicular remanent (PR) depends primarily on the surface anisotropy and film thickness. The magnetic properties of Tb/Fe superlattices are also studied. It shows ferrimagnetic properties and normal uniaxial anisotropy.; An approximation is proposed to treat magnetic Ni films of arbitrary thickness and arbitrary lattice structure for general spin. It is a much simpler way of calculation, in which one does not have to solve the determinant equation, especially the one with off-diagonal elements. The temperature and thickness dependence of various anisotropies are then investigated. There exists a PR magnetization for a medium size of film thickness.; Finally, a summary and conclusion are given and some general perspectives of the field are discussed. |
